Science

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Power Off

New York Governor Signs First Statewide Data Center Moratorium

“We have no choice but to address the challenges created by these massive facilities,” New York governor Kathy Hochul said. The executive order will pause construction for one year.

Molly Taft

Bone Collectors

Sotheby’s Big T. Rex Auction Raises Concerns Hype and Wealth Are Upending Science

Kate Wong

Reflections

The US Approves Launch of Mirror Satellite That Can Reflect Sunlight and Illuminate the Earth at Night

Javier Carbajal

Health

What Watching a Soccer Final Does to Your Body, According to Science

A recent study tracked hundreds of soccer fans until their favorite team reached the final of a tournament. Their stress levels skyrocketed, and their heart rates jumped too.

Jorge Garay

Fish Oil Supplements May Not Help Stave Off Dementia After All

A large-scale clinical trial has shown that even long-term consumption of DHA—an omega-3 fatty acid found in abundance in oily fish—may not lead to improvements in cognitive function.

Ritsuko Kawai

Food Preservatives May Increase the Risk of High Blood Pressure and Cardiovascular Disease

Aa large-scale study demonstrates that preservatives widely used in everyday processed foods may exacerbate common health risks.

Ritsuko Kawai

The FDA Ruled That Zyn Pouches Are Safer Than Cigarettes. That Doesn’t Mean They’re Safe

Zyn nicotine pouches, the FDA found, can be advertised as a less-harmful option for adult smokers. But quitting all tobacco and nicotine products remains the best idea.

Megan Tomos

Environment

El Niño Is Already Wreaking Havoc on Pacific Fisheries

As the climate phenomenon sends warm water surging across the eastern Pacific, some parts of the fishing industry are suffering—but other regions are seeing a windfall.

Joseph Winters

Scientists Have Identified a New Fossil Species of Axolotl in Mexico

Ambystoma quetzalcoatli is the first fossil salamander to be formally identified in Mexico, revealing that axolotls have inhabited the country for millions of years.

Fernanda González

How Trump Helped China Make America’s Cheapest EV

Slate is the latest automaker to transition to lower-cost batteries perfected in China, driven in part by the repeal of EV tax credits that required materials to be sourced domestically.

Aarian Marshall

Space Lasers Show How Venezuela’s Earthquakes Reshaped the Earth’s Crust

New satellite imagery reveals how much terrain has shifted in the wake of the twin quakes.

Jorge Garay

Climate

Microsoft Reports a Massive 25 Percent Jump in Emissions

Data centers are driving up the company’s use of electricity—and carbon pollution.

Molly Taft

Sunshine and Saharan Dust Make Miami’s World Cup Quarter-Final a Dangerous Game

England and Norway players will face off under extreme and dangerous levels of heat stress, scientists say, thanks to a wet-bulb index of nearly 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Isabella Ward

The Best At-Home Air Con Units to Buy Right Now

It's too hot. There, we said it. Protect your health and keep your home cool with one of these top-rated air conditioners.

Jeremy White

Is an Air-Conditioning Revolution Coming to Europe?

As extreme heat becomes the norm on the continent, the AC culture wars may be solved by advances in environmentally friendly technology.

Sabrina Weiss

Energy

Data Centers Are Quietly Taking Over Texas. The Pollution Could Be Catastrophic

Thousands of new fossil-fuel power sources are quietly firing up across the state to power the AI boom, thanks to a regulatory loophole, leaving residents feeling blindsided.

Evan Simon

The Best Portable Power Stations for Blackouts, Camping, or Van Life

Whether you’re going off-grid or safeguarding against blackouts, these beefy, WIRED-tested batteries can keep the lights on.

Simon Hill

3 Nuclear Startups Hit a Big Milestone. Why It Matters—and Why It Doesn’t

The companies’ Fourth of July plans include celebrating new reactor designs coming online. But there’s still a long way to go before they deliver energy at a meaningful scale.

Molly Taft

Drive Slower, Save Money on Gas. Thanks, Physics!

Planning a Fourth of July getaway? Use less gas—and cut your emissions—by easing up on the pedal.

Rhett Allain

Space

China’s Tianwen-2 Space Probe Has Rendezvoused With Earth’s Quasi-Moon

The probe sent back the first pictures of the asteroid Kamo’oalewa. Next step: landing on the surface and collecting samples to send back to Earth.

Ritsuko Kawai

Mysterious Compound Detected on Pluto and Titan

Something on Pluto and one of Saturn’s moons, Titan, absorbs light in a way unexplained by anything in spectroscopic databases.

Jorge Garay

British Space Startup Launches Longevity Lab Into Orbit

The lab will beam back data to train AI models to predict how proteins behind age-related diseases like Alzheimer’s and certain cancers behave.

Isabella Ward

Good News! Turns Out the Earth Will Never Be Swallowed by the Sun

A new study suggests that when our star becomes unstable in 5 billion years or so, Earth may avoid being engulfed by its fiery demise.

Simone Valesini

Physics and Math

Venezuela’s Powerful Earthquakes Were a Rare ‘Seismic Doublet’

The country was hit hard by a pair of quakes that happened in quick succession and were likely driven by stress being transferred from one part of the fault that runs through the country to another.

Fernanda González

How Can Soccer Players Bend Their Shots in Midair?

As World Cup action kicks off, we look at the physics of the beautiful game.

Rhett Allain

A Fundamental Principle of Aeronautical Engineering Has Been Overturned

It’s long been accepted that the smoother the surface, the lower the aerodynamic drag. That turns out not always to be the case.

Ritsuko Kawai

All the Fancy Measuring Devices Used in Science Rely on Two Stone-Age Techniques

The many methods we use to gather data ultimately boil down to either counting or comparing.

Rhett Allain

Biotech

Scientists’ Side Hustle? Using AI and Quantum Computing to Generate New Peptides

Researchers cobbled together funding and time to show how quantum computing could aid in the development of drugs to help underserved populations and combat rare diseases.

Isabella Ward

A Startup Is Using Special Polymers to Better Help Nerves Heal

The biodegradable material can help improve healing after surgery—or an avocado-related accident.

Isabella Ward

3 People Have Gotten Cancer-Detecting Implants in Their Brains

Coherence Neuro has started testing a brain-computer interface that could one day use electrical stimulation to prevent tumors from growing.

Emily Mullin

Longevity Startup Doses First Human in Bid to Reverse Age-Related Sight Loss

The FDA recently approved the cellular rejuvenation therapy ER-100 for human clinical trials. While vision is the first target, it could have applications for a variety of age-related disease.

Isabella Ward

Psychology and Neuroscience

Study of Buddhist Monks Finds Meditation Alters Brain Activity

Meditation isn’t thinking about nothing. New research reinforces that it’s a mind-altering, dynamic state that promotes focus, learning, and well-being.

Javier Carbajal